9-year-old killed for threatening to expose theft

Khan revealed that he had killed Arjun after the boy saw him stealing firewood from the factory. He tried to convince the boy not to tell the factory owner but the boy refused. After strangling the boy, Khan threw the body in the bushes behind the factory.

The Bharatpur police solved the murder of a nine-year-old boy, Arjun Singh, with the arrested of the accused Yunus Khan, a factory worker, on Monday.

Superintendent of police Anil Kumar Tank said Yunus Khan, 21, a resident of Vaishali district in Bihar, was arrested for strangling Arjun, a class 4 student, who had gone missing from his house. His body was found in the bushes behind a toast factory in Rupwas on Sunday.

A police team, led by station house officer of Rupwas police Arpan Chaudhary, was formed to probe the murder.

Tank said that Khan revealed that he had killed Arjun after the boy saw him stealing firewood from the factory. He tried to convince the boy not to tell the factory owner but the boy refused.

After strangling the boy, Khan threw the body in the bushes behind the factory.

Rampraksh Jatav, Arjun’s father, who owns cattle and sells milk, said that his son and two siblings had gone to the factory to deliver milk to the labourers around 5.45 pm on Saturday.

Arjun’s sibling returned home but he didn’t. The siblings told the father that one of the labourers had called Arjun to the roof and had asked the other children to go home. But the labourers said that they didn’t have any information about Arjun when the family members asked them on Saturday night.

Jatav informed the police about the missing child.

Passers-by informed the family members about the body of a child lying in the bushes behind Sugan toast factory. The family identified Arjun’s body and informed the police.

The accused has been arrested and further investigation is on to probe the involvement of other labourers.